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E46 Xi Forum The E46 XI was produced from 01-05 in sedan and touring body styles. Powered by either a 2.5L inline 6 in the 325xi or a 3.0L inline 6 330xi. Discuss all thing about BMW AWD E46 'Xi' here.

couldn't find the answer to this but can someone tell me the difference between the cars in terms of the rear height? I know the XI and I share common components for the rear portion of the car so is it the same and only the front is raised?

it matters because im collecting information and making a judgement even if it makes a billion nanometers difference.

and no, getting eibachs or HRs will not give me RWD ride height nor RWD handling/comfort. I have experimented with HR and Dinan setups in the past and gone away with them because I took subjective information from responses like yours instead of actual facts. Now this is my last and final time messing with the suspension and I want to do it right with all the information I have available. so please excuse the annoying questions because some day, a fanatic with similar goals to mine will want to do it efficiently and cost effectively do it right the first time.

Overall height of the car from ground to roof:
325i/330i: 55.7in
325xi/330xi: 56.5in

Also, what exactly are you looking for in your suspension? I'm surprised that Konis and Eibachs don't fit the bill for you. I find them as close to the RWD suspension as it gets. Dinan is also supposed to be very very good because they are a factory recognized tuner.

Overall height of the car from ground to roof:
325i/330i: 55.7in
325xi/330xi: 56.5in

Also, what exactly are you looking for in your suspension? I'm surprised that Konis and Eibachs don't fit the bill for you. I find them as close to the RWD suspension as it gets. Dinan is also supposed to be very very good because they are a factory recognized tuner.

I confirmed that eibach spring rates are harsher than a 330i ZHP's but softer than an M3's. not my cup of tea.

When I had my Dinan setup, my koni's wear harsher than their specs because I bought it from Koni outright to save money. Little did I know that Dinan had custom valving on their Koni's so my springs never oscillated correctly and did not feel right.

right now, I'm going for a stock setup for comfort reasons but have found some small components like strut hats and spring perches that will get the XI back to I level without affecting anything else.

They are not the same thing. They are sourced to H&R for manufacturing but their specs are Dinan.

Dinan springs drop the car .75 inches and .25inches in the rear and less Harsh when HR /Eibach are more serious. I know because I've owned BavAuto, H & R, Dinan Springs and sold them off in this forum in the past. I haven't tried Eibach yet, but after finding out directly from their R&D team that their spring rate is between ZHP and m3, I didn't want to risk blowing more money on that setup because I've ridden in both and it's not my cup of tea

My experience with drop hats is that they work very well and offer those who want a modest drop without compromising ANYTHING and I mean it because in no way do these affect spring rate, shock rebound/life.. I have had these drop hats on my e30 with stock IS suspension and it is perfect. It dropped the front in line with the rear so it looks even (as oppose to the front being high).

It only took me this long to figure it out for an XI because I didn't realize the OEM spring perches between an I or an XI were actually the same P/N. The e46 AWD and RWD chassis share many more components than their e30 counterparts ever did so that is to our benefit i guess...

In any event, I encourage all those interested to refrain from buying anything until I report back to you with the results. That way you won't blow money on my simple theories.

looking good so far. measured it with no passengers while camber and caster are out of spec but even with that, I've lost at least .5 inches compared to bently specs. will report back once I get an alignment next week

One thing I would've done differently is kept my koni shocks. I have gone back to stock shocks and the only difference I felt was in my wallet. My mechanic inspected them and said they had plenty of life and would last longer than oem. In other words, konis on the softest is comparable to OEM struts/shocks using oem springs. Lesson learned since I cant retuen oem parts but gotta spend a little to learn a little

looking good so far. measured it with no passengers while camber and caster are out of spec but even with that, I've lost at least .5 inches compared to bently specs. will report back once I get an alignment next week

One thing I would've done differently is kept my koni shocks. I have gone back to stock shocks and the only difference I felt was in my wallet. My mechanic inspected them and said they had plenty of life and would last longer than oem. In other words, konis on the softest is comparable to OEM struts/shocks using oem springs. Lesson learned since I cant retuen oem parts but gotta spend a little to learn a little